Dirty jobs

CAMP CASEY, South Korea – As technology develops, so do many kinds of threats. Some of them include chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear attacks. Some soldiers help us to defend ourselves from those threats.

“I am in charge of the brigade’s training program,” said Capt. Daniel Standridge, from Abbeville, S.C., the 210th Fires Brigade CBRN officer in charge. “So, my job is to go out and certify that the battalions and companies are both conducting training. To make sure their trainers, both soldiers and officers, are certified and confident trainers.”

Standridge says the CBRN job is different from other jobs because it is a very complex field.

“We deal with a lot of very complicated and technical pieces of equipment and there is a lot of chemistry and physics behind our MOS or Military Occupational Specialty,” he said. “Everyone should have a basic understanding of how those things work to be really effective as a soldier.”

Standridge said, the strenuous part of his job is the decontamination process.

“The dirtiest part of CBRN training is probably running an equipment decon line. There's a lot of water and a lot of decontaminant you have to glop on the vehicles. The ground is a big muddy mess at the end of it. Plus, you're in the MOPP (Mission-Oriented Protective Posture) suit for eight hours.”

While the decon process is the most demanding, the confidence chamber is what most Soldiers think of when referring to CBRN training.

“No one wants to go through the confidence chamber,” he said. “The gas burns your skin and eyes and the feeling is just so unbearable. Occasionally somebody with a really bad cold doesn’t mind so much.”

The confidence chamber isn’t set up for soldiers to hate CBRN training it is a protective measure.

“It helps to make sure you know what to do in an attack,” he said.
Since someone has to do it, it doesn’t bother him, Standridge said while smiling.

Its professional aspect makes the CBRN job more unique than others, which is one of the reasons Standridge likes the job.
“We are such a small branch,” he said. “You really get to know your soldiers.”

Even though Standridge’s training is not glamorous or popular with soldiers, he loves his job and considers it as the best job in the Army.

To download these high-quality photos and others for use in your publication, click on the link to go to this set at the 210th Fires Brigade Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/210fib/sets/72157636928329543/.